Consisting of two alternating layers, the coating can be sprayed onto sponges and subsequently stored for months at a time. By coating the sponges ahead of time, these thrombin-filled tools become particularly advantageous since they can easily be packed, stored and pulled out for use whenever the time may come.

The engineers' high hopes for the product were confirmed after testing the sponges on animals at Ferrosan. When applying a thrombin-coated sponge to a wound, bleeding stopped in 60 seconds. Without the thrombin, bleeding did not stop for over two minutes. When using only a simple gauze patch, the bleeding did not stop at all.

With uncontrolled bleeding as the leading cause of trauma death on the battlefield, the coating is a serious breakthrough for soldier technologies.

Contributing Editor
Sarah Korones is a freelance writer based in New York. She has written for Psychology Today and Boston's Weekly Dig. She holds a degree from Tufts University.
Follow her on Twitter.